Thomas, you may have missed my major study on the use of the word "gobs" in Parker notes; here is a brief outline. If folks are still interested, I could reprint the whole thing as a separate thread:
Introduction. This post appeared originally on Robin Garr’s Wine Lover’s Discussion Group web page (
http://www.wine-lovers-page.com/forum/general), and has been re-edited and somewhat modified. The major resources were the 21,076 tasting notes in Parker's Wine Adviser and Cellar Manager, Version 3.71; this Version covers “The Wine Advocate” issues from February 21, 1992 through December 19, 1997 [nos. 70 - 114].
The thread began with a note indicating that Mr. Parker had used the word "gobs" in 856, or 4.1%, of the Tasting Notes in the database. A number of posters expressed surprise at how many times the word was used and others alluded to its unsavory meanings. This study:
1. Describes how Mr. Parker uses the word "gobs".
2. Describes the characteristics described by "gobs".
3. Collects classical meanings of "gobs".
4. Argues that Mr. Parker has created (or popularized) a new meaning "gobs".
5. Describes the appearance of "copious amounts" or "copious quantities".
6. Discusses "oodles" and other alternatives (both real and imaginary) for “gobs”.
7. Acknowledges the inspiration and help of others in preparing this study.
8. Quotes a sample of about 20% of the TNs containing "gobs of".
9. Samples occurrences of other words in the database.
It's worth mentioning that this study concluded just as other authors joined Parker in writing "The Wine Advocate". Updating to compare/contrast/exclude the notes of other authors would be exceedingly tedious. So one must recognize that the current study is not exhaustive of the Parker canon.
Last edited by Bob Ross on Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.